Stats: Rangana Herath becomes the most successful left-arm spinner in Test history
Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has broken the record for the most number of wickets taken by a left-arm spinner in the history of Test cricket. The 38-year-old veteran went past former New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori’s tally of 362 wickets when he removed Litton Das on the Day 4 of the ongoing Test against Bangladesh at Galle.
The left-arm spinner also went past Pakistan legend Imran Khan in the overall tally for most wickets in the history of Test cricket when he removed Das in the post lunch session.
With 365 wickets to his name, Herath finds himself in the 19th position for the most number of scalps taken by a bowler in Test history and is already Sri Lanka’s second highest wicket-taker in Test history behind Muttiah Muralitharan, who has 800 wickets to his name.
In the list of left-arm bowlers who have taken most number of wickets, Herath is only behind Wasim Akram, who took 414 Test wickets during his career.
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Herath has got to the feat in his 79th Test match, having made his debut in 1999 against Pakistan under the leadership of Arjuna Ranatunga. In 2015 against Pakistan, he picked up staggering figures of 9 for 127 to record his best Test figures and help Sri Lanka win the test.
Here’s a table for the left-arm spinners to have taken most Test wickets:
| Name | Matches | Wickets | Best Bowling Figures |
| Rangana Herath | 79* | 365* | 9/127 |
| Daniel Vettori | 113 | 362 | 7/87 |
| Derek Underwood | 86 | 297 | 8/51 |
| Bishan Singh Bedi | 67 | 266 | 7/98 |
| GAR Lock | 49 | 174 | 7/35 |
Most number of wickets taken by a left-arm bowler in Test history
| Name | Matches | Wickets | Economy |
| Wasim Akram | 104 | 414 | 2.59 |
| Rangana Herath | 79* | 365* | 2.77 |
| Daniel Vettori | 113 | 362 | 2.59 |
| Chaminda Vaas | 111 | 355 | 2.68 |
| Mitchell Johnson | 73 | 313 | 3.33 |